A tumultuous week for press freedom culminated in a new law without jail sentences for journalists, writes Mohamed El-Sayed It was the first time in the history of the Egyptian press that more than 25 newspapers had made a united decision not to appear on newsstands on a particular day. The unprecedented absence, on Sunday, came in protest at the draft of the new press law that was deliberated in the People's Assembly on that day, and which included a prison sentence for slander. Later in the week, President Hosni Mubarak's decision to wipe out reference to jail terms for journalists in the draft brought on much commentary. "Viva corruption... down with freedom of the press," expressed sarcastic writer Ahmed Ragab in the daily Al-Akhbar. That was the slogan journalists upheld during their protest in front of the People's Assembly on the day the law was deliberated. "Free press will never surrender," read the headline of the daily independent Al-Masri Al-Yom on Monday. It also published most of the articles that should have appeared on independent and opposition papers the previous day. "This law, if passed, will help spread and protect corruption instead of fighting it," Mahmoud Awad was quoted as saying in Al-Masri Al-Yom. Awad saw that the papers should have come out that day because readers were unable to follow up on what was taking place in the People's Assembly concerning the new law. Mustafa Bakri, editor-in-chief of the weekly independent Al-Osbou, held a gloomy view of the future of press. "I'm dead certain that the new law will be passed without any amendment, and we will protest [for some time] and then we will continue writing and crying over spilt milk. "The new law is aimed at denying the press any option but to sing the praises [of the government]," he added. Bakri said he believed that the problem was that "nobody [from the government] wants to listen to [journalists] and if anybody listens, he is not willing to understand the reasons behind our rejection of this law." Bakri, who is a member of parliament, added, "the greatest danger to the press is that some members of the People's Assembly's legislative committee are spiteful of journalists and the press in general." Abdallah El-Sennawi, executive editor-in-chief of the Nasserist mouthpiece Al-Arabi, sees the disappearance of more than two dozen newspapers from the newsstands as being full of significance. "There is no time or room for compromise," El-Sennawi said, "so everybody has to determine his position -- whether they choose to be in the reform camp or the corruption camp." He warned that if some ministers and MPs imagined "that they can put a bridle on the press by jailing journalists, it is most likely that they will deeply regret doing so, and they will find the jail doors wide open for them in the future." El-Sennawi argued that it was not in the regime's interest to renege on President Hosni Mubarak's promise to cancel the imprisonment sentence. "Journalists could be sent to prison, but the international community, media and human rights organisations will exercise more pressure on the regime. When freedom of expression is hindered, political and social violence prevail, and the regime might pay a dear price." In Al-Masri Al-Yom, Salaheddin Hafez, secretary-general of the Arab Press Union, said, "the coalition between corruption and tyrannical [rule] in Egypt will certainly lead to an explosion." Hafez described the government as "a minority government that commences its rule by oppressing freedom of the press." He added that jail sentence for journalists was abolished in democratic states two centuries ago. Nabil Zaki, editor-in-chief of the weekly Al-Ahali wrote that "governments like the one in our country look down its nose at journalists and consider them a source of disturbance and unrest. It sees that their aim is to intervene in matters that are none of their business, and that they are driven by curiosity and obtrusion." Zaki added that whether the new press law was passed or not, "the phobia about freedom of the press will persist." The journalists' campaign bore fruit on Monday as President Mubarak ordered the government to cancel the imprisonment sentence. "Mubarak renders freedom of expression victorious," read the headline of Al-Ahram on Tuesday. The presidential decision was most welcome by a large segment of journalists and columnists. The former editor-in-chief of Al-Musawwar and Al-Ahram columnist Makram Mohamed Ahmed launched harsh critique on those who tried to pass the new press law. "Anyone who jails a writer will be sent to the dustbin of history," he was quoted as saying in Al-Masri Al-Yom. Ahmed held the view that "there are certain officials in the regime who try to persuade the president that when they are criticised in the press it is [a criticism] of his regime." But Ahmed remained optimistic. "I don't think that President Mubarak's patience with freedom of the press will wear thin... for he wants to reach a formula that wins consensus on all sides, protects the freedom of the press and saves people's privacy from harm." Following the president's intervention that led to the abolishment of any jail term in the new press law, Ahmed sang the praises of Mubarak in his column in Al-Ahram. "The president's decision ended a crisis that could have further complicated the ties between journalists and the regime... the decision absolved the regime of accusations that it seeks to destabilise the press [and prevent it] from fighting corruption cases." This week also witnessed the birth of a new mouthpiece of the ruling party, the National Democratic Party. Al-Ahram published a photo of President Mubarak, president of the party, while leafing through the newspaper Al-Watani Al-Yom. Newspapers were also awash with reports and columns about the final match of the World Cup, especially the world's best player Zinedine Zidane's attack on Italian defender Marco Materazzi. "Zidane has destroyed his illustrious history in a moment of anger," wrote Ahmed Bahgat in his daily column in Al-Ahram. "It was a dramatic end of a hero who retired. Nobody imagined that he would see red [in his last match]."
